Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-07-16
FOOD AND EXERCISE.
AN ATHLETE GIVES SOME RULES FOR MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT.


 Exercise Should be Avoided Early in the
 aIorninS-Bad Effects of Training on
 an Empty Stomach - Weight and
 Height.
 A reporter asked Professor J. M. Lafiin the athlete, about some of the rules for muscular development and the food and exercise necessary. He said:
 "A man must not impose upon his stomach; it is the boiler, the engine, as it were. that supplies strength tl the body. People of bilious lymphatic temperaments are apt tO use drastic medicines to excess and ruin their constitutions Once let the insidious use of strong drugs under mine the health and then nine times out Of ten the system never rallies to it's pris tine condition. Exercise IS food. it is health, it IS life. l have given my life tO the study of the development of human strength and endurance
 "HOw and when should a person exer- else Co be healthy and not OverdO the thing"
 Exercise should be avoided early in the morning before breakfast on an empty stomach. The air is very unwhOlesOme early in the morning, and until the sun has purified it'with its generous beams Co breathe it freely Is injurious. Malarial and chest diseases are liable tO be taken, hence the imperative necessity Of avoiding early morning exercise. People who are not professional athletes cannot stand the fatigue of exercise before akfast, and it even weakcus the regular professional ones who are ignorant. The system Is weaker when a person rises than at any other period during the day. l well re- member that I was forced tO walk twenty miles before breakfast when l began t1 train. l came back weak and exhausted. It was wrong and did Inc more harm than good. The athlete who trains on an empty stomach Is merely devitalizing himself The proper way is Co rise an hour or so after the sun is up, take light breakfast and after the meal has been thoroughly digestcd then take the exercise. Then good work can be done without harm.
 "There are many points of practice among Oarsmcn and other professionals that are absolutely perniciOus. An oars man when he comes in from practice will devote a few minutes tO his boat before he rubs himself down. He should not permit himself Co cool down before he has wiped away the refuse matter. The pores Of the skin are open then, but a few min utes' rest closes them an the scrub doesn't d0 SD much good. it is common sense that Is needed more than anything else. Then another fatal error is the shock and reaction theory The young olysm3n while heated jumps into a cold bath Coming out Co ths natural tenn peratsrc of the air there Is a shock with out any reaction. Young Maxwell, promising OIrsmln, killed himself in this way He leaped into the water from his boat, took a Cou-estive chill and died in the hospital The proper way Co cool of @ man is the same as that of a race horse. Rub him slowly, cautiously, and in Che m3n's case use plenty of salt in the water with which he is spoused. \ pint of salt should be used Co pail of water, thor. oughly dissolved. During the cooling process moderate walking should be taken under 60 blanket There should never be a sudden change from intense exercise Co perfect rest; the prOgess should be gradual. The great cardinal principals oi al training are simply com. mon sense and temperance in exercise."
 DIET OF ATHLETES.
 'Do all athletes agree upon the subject of diets'
 "No for I differ materially from my brotlct athletes. depreCate the use of | rare meat Many suppose it is more l strengthening than well cooked meat, but l it Is great mistake. it reqEires a cast l iron stomach. one with great tone and | strength. Co digest rare meat, and the be- l g,uner as a rule, is not able to do it. | Nothing Is well digested in the stomach ! against which the palate revolts. l can ! not eat rare meat unless l spice it up | highly with condiments, and they are | positively imperyi1us Co digestion. Meat | should neither be rare nor too well done. | but a medium that retains its natural | juices. The rare meat idea has done a | great deal Of harm, and the sooner it fs ! exploded the better Without physical l vitality the greltest accomplishments | amount Co nothing The American | scholar, as @ rule. is a dyspeptic. He is | razor faced. lantern jawed. thin. nervous I man. The old regimen for the student is | obsolete and almost as fatal as yellow | fever. long morning walks before break | fast. reduction of diet little sleep and ire | qucut cole baths without well supported | vitality it is a wonder how may students I've, any way"
 "Is there @ special weight in proport;CB l to a mans height for him to perform athletic icltse'
 '.Yes. lf a man Is feet high he should | we rl from iU3 Co tuS pounds Co Do | athletic iu proportion. The proportions are arranged as follows, and they arc ac- Curatc uul ,ss 1u account of some abnormal defects. Height Q feet 4 inches, weight from 1l9 tp 12j pounds; height ] feet inches weight from l,i3 Co i4J pounds; height fee, Inches, weight from 10 Co 15J pounds; height fcct9 inches, weight from ijJ 0 l63 pounds; height ! feet 10 inches, We ght from iG3 Co li3 pounds; height : feet n inches, weight from f14 to l>3 pouuds; height 6 feet, weight from lSO Go ig2 pounds. |; will be found the above figures show what the weight of man should be in good condition accord ing Co the size of his bone, neck, chest, wrist, ankle and height, and, as a rule, if his measurement does not compare closely wi,h these figures. he must be consider ably out of proportion. New York Mail lll ENEr.--